"Sophisticated Lady" is a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

, composed as an instrumental in 1932 by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

Background

Additional credit is given to publisher

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 16, 1894 – April 21, 1985) was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz artist promoter. He sometimes used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal Mills was ...

whose words were added to the song by Mitchell Parish. The words met with approval from Ellington, who described them as "wonderful—but not entirely fitted to my original conception". That original conception was inspired by three of Ellington's grade school teachers. "They taught all winter and toured Europe in the summer. To me that spelled sophistication." Lawrence Brown, the trombone player in Ellington's band at the time, claimed that he was responsible for the main hook in the A section of the tune. Ellington paid him $15 for his contribution, but he was never officially credited. Duke Ellington and His Orchestra introduced "Sophisticated Lady" in 1933 with an instrumental recording of the song that featured solos by

Toby Hardwick Otto James "Toby" Hardwicke (May 31, 1904 – August 5, 1970) was an American saxophone player associated with Duke Ellington. Biography Hardwick began on string bass at the age of 14, then moved to C melody saxophone and finally settled on ...

on alto sax,

Barney Bigard Albany Leon "Barney" Bigard (March 3, 1906 – June 27, 1980) was an American jazz clarinetist known for his 15-year tenure with Duke Ellington. He also played tenor saxophone. Biography Bigard was born in New Orleans to Creole parents, Ale ...

on clarinet, Lawrence Brown on trombone and Ellington on piano. The recording entered the charts on 27 May 1933 and rose to number three. Singer

Adelaide Hall Adelaide Louise Hall (20 October 1901 – 7 November 1993) was an American-born UK-based jazz singer and entertainer. Her long career spanned more than 70 years from 1921 until her death and she was a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Hal ...

recorded with Ellington in 1927, 1932, and 1933, but only recorded two versions of "Sophisticated Lady", in 1944 (with Phil Green And His Rhythm) and in 1976, on her album "Hall of Ellington." The song appeared on the soundtrack of the 1989/90 documentary celebrating her life entitled ''Sophisticated Lady''. In his autobiography 'Music Is My Mistress' on p106 Ellington writes that 'George Gershwin once told Oscar Levant that he wished he had written the bridge to Sophisticated Lady, and that made me very proud'

Other recordings

Sylvia Brooks Sylvia Brooks is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Sylvia Brooks started her career in classical theatre, having studied at The American Conservatory Theater under the direction of Allen Fletcher and Bill Ball. In 2009, Brooks began sing ...

– '' Dangerous Liaisons'' (2009) *

Casa Loma Orchestra The Casa Loma Orchestra was an American dance band active from 1929 to 1963. Until the rapid multiplication in the number of swing bands from 1935 on, the Casa Loma Orchestra was one of the top North American dance bands. With the decline of the b ...

– 1933 *

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz composer, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", " 500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and ...

– ''

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'' (1989) *

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist. Early life Larry Coryell was born in Galveston, Texas, United States. He never knew his biological father, a musician. He w ...

– ''

Toku Do ''Toku Do'' is an album by guitarist Larry Coryell which was recorded in 1987 and released on the Muse label.Muse Rec ...

'' *

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

– 1947 *

– ''Masterpieces by Ellington'' (1950) *

– ''Adelaide Hall Live at the Riverside Studios'' * Billie Holiday – '' All or Nothing at All'' (1956) * Stan Kenton – '' Kenton with Voices'' (1957) *

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work as a bassist. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandros ...

– ''

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'' * Mulgrew Miller and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen – '' The Duets'' (1999) *

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

– ''

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'' (1964) * Thelonious Monk – ''

Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington ''Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington'' is an album by jazz pianist Thelonious Monk that was released by Riverside in 1955. It was also released under the title ''Thelonious Monk Plays the Music of Duke Ellington''. The album contains Monk's ver ...

'' (1955) * Spud Murphy – ''Gone with the Woodwinds'' (1955) * Don Redman – 1933 *

Boz Scaggs William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he began his solo career in 1969, though he lacked a major hit until h ...

– '' But Beautiful'' (2003) * Art Tatum – 1933 and 1954 * Toots Thielemans with

Fred Hersch Fred Hersch (born October 21, 1955) is an American jazz pianist, educator and HIV/AIDS activist. He was the first person to play weeklong engagements as a solo pianist at the Village Vanguard in New York City. He has recorded more than 70 of his ...

– ''Only Trust Your Heart'' (1988) *

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra was a jazz big band formed by trumpeter Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis in New York in 1965.Lisik/Allen. 50 Years at the Village Vanguard:Thad Jone, Mel Lewis and the Village Vanguard Orchestra. Sky Deck M ...

– ''Can I Persuade You?'' (2001) *

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

- After Hours (1961) * Abbey Lincoln - ''Golden Lady'' (1981) * Dave Grusin - '' Homage to Duke'' (1993) * Jaco Pastorius - '' Invitation'' (1983) * Caetano Veloso - ''A Foreign Sound'' (2004) * Tony Bennett - '' Cheek to Cheek'' (2014) * Ray Stevens - ''Melancholy Fescue'' (2021)

References

External links

"Sophisticated Lady" at jazzstandards.com

Who Was Duke's Sophisticated Lady?
{{Authority control 1930s jazz standards 1932 songs Billie Holiday songs Rosemary Clooney songs Nancy Wilson (jazz singer) songs Songs with music by Duke Ellington Songs with lyrics by Irving Mills Songs with lyrics by Mitchell Parish Jazz songs Jazz compositions in A-flat major

Background

Other recordings

See also

References

External links